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The Mozart Starter

Fifty years ago most of Mozart's music was virtually unknown. Concert programmers worked with a few old standbys -- the overture to Don Giovanni, the D-minor piano concerto, the "Jupiter" symphony. But many of Mozart's compositions, including some of his best operas, remained hidden from the musical public.

This has changed dramatically in the past few decades, especially since the bicentennial in 1991 of the composer's death. Now Mozart's entire oeuvre, comprising more than 600 compositions, is available on compact disc -- an intimidating prospect for those who are just getting to know him and his music.

For them, Bruce Cooper Clarke has written an ingenious guide titled The Mozart Starter. Clarke assumes that the reader is familiar with the most popular of Mozart's works -- Piano Concerto No. 21, Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Le nozze di Figaro and so forth -- and uses this familiarity as a springboard to other, lesser-known works.

The chapter on "The Symphonies," for example, assumes that the reader knows the last five symphonies, from "Linz" to "Jupiter," then goes on to recommend three very early works (Symphony in F, No. 6, K. 43; Symphony in D minor, K. 118; Symphony in E flat, No. 19, K. 132) and two later ones (Symphony in G minor, No. 25, K. 183; Symphony in B flat, No. 33, K. 319). A fine and representative sampling, but not one that most listeners are familiar with.

Clarke sums everything up -- everything being less than 60 pages -- with a checklist of recommended works and a brief biography.

If you'd like to introduce a friend to Mozart's music, The Mozart Starter would be one way to do it.